Nomad
by LilRandaRoo
Summary: A romance novel based in the old west. A mysterious woman and a high strung broad.
1. Dugra

He was a silver sword crafted from the hands of God. He knew only the road, the gravel beneath his feet, the blazing heat bearing down onto his broad shoulders, and the stench of decomposition. For years he had searched for her, the one who got away. She was lost. Not physically, mentally. He understood that from the moment he bumped into her at the market. 

**The Beginning...**

It was the peak of fall. There were gloomy leaves falling all over Dugra's acres. He sighed heavily as he got up for his day. His dog, Stella, rolled over into his spot taking his blanket with her. He smirked and thought how lucky it would be to be a dog. He went into the bathroom and looked at himself. He brushed his teeth, showered, and headed out the door. He stood in front of his Nissan Skyline R34 admiringly. He turned around to blow Stella a kiss, even though she was long gone into a snoring puppy sleep. He crouched into his car and revved it, startling his entire neighborhood. He pulled into his midocre job at the saloon. He nodded to the usual suspects standing outside the wooden, swinging doors. As he entered, he noticed a difference in the group that were mingling at his bar. They were younger, skimpier, and of course, drunker. Being he hadn't a real woman in his life for far too long, he didn't mind this group to oogle at. He relieved his long time friend, Frank, from his "horrid" shift with all the sleezey girls. Frank proceeded to hop over the bar to join them. Dugra laughed and slid him a beer. His shift went on, the girls and Frank left his bar, the usuals had returned to their angry, sober wives, and he was there with a few townspeople. He started to overhear a lady gossiping about a woman with eyes that could pierce a heart from miles away, hair so elegant it would mesmerize you, and a body that you would never want to walk away from. He was astonished at first that some old hag would talk about a woman that way, but she was quite a few beers deep so he understood. Soon after he heard enough of this newcomer, the lady had paid her tab and headed out singing merry tunes with her kin. He closed up his bar and headed out for the evening. He couldn't get that description out of his head. He had to know who she was. 


	2. Woman

It was getting dark and Dugra was starting to miss Stella. He knew it was time to head back so he got into his car, did a couple of doughnuts, and sped down to the market before it closed. He treated Stella to a nice steak accompanied by vegetables every night and tonight was her birthday. He got there thirty minutes before they closed, luckily he was on a mission. He ran inside and headed to the back for a steak. As he was browsing, he noticed a strikingly beautiful woman mumbling to herself about meat. 

"Excuse me, ma'am, is everything alright?" He gracefully walked towards her.

"Quite alright actually, I never understood the differences between cuts!" She snorted.

"Well, neither do I but my dog likes anything I bring to her," he joked.

"Dog? I love dogs! What kind of dog? How old? Boy or a girl? Is it fat? Muscular?"

She hounded with questions, Dugra didn't mind at all. This was her. Her lips were plump and red. Her nose was small and dainty. Her gorgeous locks looked absolutely soft to the touch. Her eyes were bluer than the ocean and sky in the middle of summer. She was short. She was healthy looking as well which made his heart pound. She wasn't skin and bones but there was enough for him to hold. He stared at her, fearing he would start drooling. 

"Sir?" She attempted to get his attention.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I must have gotten sidetracked! Her name is Stella, she's a six year little pit bull, she's chubby but lean. She's all I have in this world."

"That's sweet. The way you talk about her, ya know," she smiled at him.

"I believe the store is closing soon, we should hurry up."

"Dang it! You're right! I still haven't figured out a meat!"

"Here, choose this one," Dugra grabs the last steak and hands it to her, "I bring it to Stella every night."

That was it. He had met her and that old hags words were true. She was stunning. She had Dugra on the edge of his seat. But there was one thing he forgot to ask. Her name. He ran after her only to hear tire squeals and see smoke covering little Miata tail lights. 


	3. Arrival

It was late and Stella was mad. Dugra pulled into the driveway, his headlights revealing a snorting dog at the window. He sighed. He knew she was upset but knew she still loved him. He walked into his house, threw his keys down, sat the groceries on the counter, and started rubbing Stella's head. 

"You're such a good girl," he said lovingly. 

He started cooking their dinner while singing a tune. She started dog-talking to him as if it was annoying. Once the dinner was finished, he sat her plate on her soggy dining table and she was done in two minutes tops. He got up to close her doggy door for the night and headed to bed. She followed promptly behind. He had the day off tomorrow and she knew that meant it was a day for her. 

The Next Morning...

Dugra woke up to slobber from Stella as well as a knock on the door. Curiously, he peared through his window only to see the woman from the store. He jumped out of bed and ran to the door, quickly opening it then remembering he didn't have pants on. 

"Oh my!" She exclaimed.

"I'm so sorry. I just woke up," Stella bolted for her.

"Is this Stella? Oh my you're so precious. She's so chubby! Who's a good girl! You're a good girl!"

"That is Stella, I am Dugra. And I don't believe I caught your name the other night," he wondered.

"Mai, with an I," She said happily.

_Mai, _he repeated. He ran to his room to retrieve pants. When he came out, Mai had gotten on the ground to give Stella the infamous belly rubs. 

"You know, we were going to have a doggy date, if you'd like to tag along," Dugra offered.

"That sounds great! However I came here to introduce myself as your new neighbor! I didn't realize it was you!"

"Neighbor? You mean you are living in that creepy old house?" Dugra said with a disgusted look on his face.

"Creepy?! I think it has vintage charm!" She smiled and threw her hands up.

"If that's what you want to call it..." he laughed.

"Well let's get this day started!"

They loaded Stella into Dugra's car, Mai hopped into hers, and followed Dugra to a nice swimming hole. He had set everything out and closed off a little area strictly for Stella and them to relax. Stella ran and splashed around, throwing her toys in the air, then immediately plopping into the mud and taking a nap. 

"She's the cutest thing," Mai said as she sipped her water.

"That she is," Dugra replied, "however I must know, why did you move here?"

"I'm a nomad. Staying in one place for more than a year drives me insane. This was a small little town. So I decided I wanted to live here," she trailed her words into a distance.

The weather was rolling in and Dugra knew it was time to head home.


	4. Race

As the pulled into the driveway, Dugra sighed heavily. Stella jumped into the drivers seat, slobbering and licking Dugra's face causing him to grin from ear to ear. Mai got out of her car and ran to the door barely escaping the rain. Dugra and Stella followed behind her. 

"Mind if I come in," Mai asked.

"I thought that was the plan," Dugra winked at her while unlocking the door.

As they entered inside, Dugra noticed things seemed off. His typewriter was pushed to the side, his papers were on the floor, and drawers appeared to be rummaged through. He quickly ran upstairs to check for his Grandfather's things. _Shit.. they took it. _Mai screamed from downstairs and Stella was barking aggressively. Dugra ran down the steps just to see Mai being drug on the floor and out the door. 

"Stella, it's time to go," he said putting a vest on himself and Stella. 

Stella wiggled her butt and Dugra ran to his car. They got in and chased after the black 1967 Camaro squealing down the road. He had to get the only things left in this world of his grandfathers, and of course, Mai. 

Next thing he knew, he was being shot on. Stella grabbed the latch next to her with her mouth unveiling a bullet proof cover. 

"Good girl," Dugra patted her on the head.

Dugra picked up his pace, pedals to the floor, he tried catching up. He caught a glimpse of the driver. He had a tattoo. A bright red dragon on his wrist. Dugra knew who he was dealing with now. 

It was the same gang that took his mother and murdered his grandfather. Things got personal. 

"Stella- COVER!" Dugra commanded. 

Stella hopped into the back inside a breathable, bullet safe box. 

Dugra slammed his car into theirs, shifting them into the edge. He saw Mai tied up to the backseat, tears rolling down her cheeks. 

**_BOOM! _**


	5. Eerie

Dugra groaned as he woke up, his head was bleeding, and smoke was coming from the hood. He reached behind him to open the safety box. Stella peaked up, perfectly content and safe. Dugra looked around for the Camaro, which was no where to be found. Dugra got out of his car. Pain filled his eyes when he saw the front end of his car. It was smashed to pieces into an abandoned trailer on the highway. Dugra looked around at all the emptied cars, abandoned stores, and not a soul in sight. _Somethings not right.. now to find out what. _Dugra searched for a car that he could drive, when he spotted a small little Miata. _Mai.. _Dugra got in and hot wired the car while Stella made herself comfortable in the front seat. Dugra turned around and headed towards the saloon to see if anyone knew about the tattoo. 

Once he arrived, he noticed bar stools flipped over on their sides, beer bottles smashed, blood everywhere, and not a body in sight. _Odd_. 

Dugra saw a note on the bar with his name in big, bold letters. 

**_Dugra:_**

**_143 Holloway Road_**

**_TW_**

Dugra didn't know a TW nor did he understand the address. There was only one way to find out. That was to head there. Dugra grabbed his money from beneath the counter, grabbed a pack of smokes, and headed out the door. Stella was waiting patiently in the front seat. Dugra gave her a belly rub before setting his GPS to Holloway Road. As he drove, he looked around for any sign of life. He noticed a dark mist setting in and it got very chilly. Dugra ignored the signs and headed to his destination. 


	6. Urslee

Dugra pulled into an old, deserted driveway. He quickly shut his lights off and told Stella to stay down. She listened, of course, not without growling first. Dugra pulled a Kahr Arms P380 out and cocked it. He slowly entered the abandoned house, pistol ahead of him, with the mist setting in. Dugra called out for TW, in which he got no response. 

Dugra went into what appeared to be a den. He found fresh blood on the floor and a letter on the end table attached to a dog treat. 

_Great. Another fucking letter. And a dog treat. Who the hell thinks I'm giving a random treat to my dog. _

Dugra opened the letter to find a set of keys and another address. This one he knew. It was his grandfather's address. Dugra walked out of the house with keys in one hand and the pistol in another. He hopped into his stolen car and drove away. 

On the way there, he received a call. 

"Hello?" He muttered. 

"Where are you," a strange voice barked, "we have her, don't you want her? She's beautiful. She'll be even more beautiful hanging from my wall." 

"Who is this? Why did you take her? Where are you?" 

_Click. _

The call ended and Dugra was furious. He had only known her two days but something about her made him crazy. He wanted her. Dugra wanted to embrace her and tell her everything would be okay. He pulled into his grandfather's driveway, this time taking Stella with him. There was a light shining through the window, so he knocked. A lady opened the door. She was wearing a hood and a long skirt covering majority of her body. Dugra looked into her eyes and realized who she was. Glee filled his soul and Stella pounced the lady covering her with kisses. 

"Mom?"


	7. Mother

"I thought they killed you.." Dugra spoke in hush tones with tears in his eyes. 

Dugra's mother held him in her arms, cooing and swaying him. She had blood dripping from her arm. At an attempt to cover and conceal it, Dugra leaned up and exposed a nasty open wound on his mother's arm. He remembered the blood on the letter he found with the keys. Suddenly, a cold, dark feeling fell over him. 

"I need to go, Mom," Dugra got up in a rush, "I will come see you in the next couple of days. I have some researching to do to find Mai." 

With that, Dugra grabbed Stella and ran to his car. Quickly, he loaded her in and drove away. Dugra knew his mother was up to something; but his only choice now was to ignore her. He pulled into Mai's driveway and hoped for an unlocked door. Knowing someone was after him, he had to leave his home. He broke Mai's back window and crawled through before opening the back door and letting Stella in. He looked around only to find boxes piled high with one open. There was a chair overlooking his living room with a blanket on it. 

"Well, Stella, I don't know about you but I'm tired," Dugra said peacefully as he reached for his gun. He sat into the chair with Stella at his feet and his gun loaded in his lap and drifted to sleep. 

_Back at Dugra's Mother's _

_"No. He doesn't expect a thing."_

_"Yes yes. I have it covered. He should be back in a couple days."_

_"Soon. Soon" _

_"Goodbye, TW. I love you."_

_**Click. **_


	8. OhDaddy

Dugra woke up groggy and sore. He didn't even know where to begin on this quest and he certainly didn't know who he could trust. 

As Dugra got up from the giant, comfy chair, he let out a quick sigh waking Stella up. She jumped to her feet and started wagging her tail with excitement. Dugra leaned down to start petting her when something dashed across the window. He grabbed his pistol and slowly crept over to the window. Stella was following closely behind. Dugra saw a man digging in the back; however, since Mai just moved into the neighborhood and Dugra didn't know her that well, he was not sure if this was a friend or foe. Dugra walked outside, pistol in hand, with Stella behind me and asked the stranger what he was doing on Mai's lawn. 

"Oh, I'm sorry sir I thought this was Mai's place. I must be mistaken. I'll pack up now."

"No no. This is her house. She's gone missing."

"Missing?" The stranger snarled. "She was always getting into trouble with her blue eyes."

"That's not very nice to say about someone who could potentially be dead," Dugra got harsh with his tones. He was starting to get aggravated with this new guy. 

"You're right," he started mock weeping then ended it with a laugh. 

"What are you digging? Who are you to her?" 

"Questions like that will get you shot, boy," the stranger dropped his shovel and walked towards Dugra. 

Dugra grabbed onto his pistol and Stella stood in her angry stance ready to pounce. 

"I'm Timothy Wilkins," he held his hand out, "also Mai's father." 

_TW... odd. _

"It was nice to meet you," Dugra started sweating, "but I've got to go back to searching for her." 

"Alright, boy. She'll be dead before ya know it. Where she goes, trouble follows." 


End file.
